Central Kansas town of Nickerson to drop police

Friday

Oct 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM

The central Kansas town of Nickerson is dropping its police force because of budget concerns.

AP

The central Kansas town of Nickerson is dropping its police force because of budget concerns.The Hutchinson News reports that the city council made the decision in a 4-3 vote Thursday night. The last police shift in the town of about 1,000 residents will end at midnight Saturday. And the Reno County Sheriff's Office will be the primary law enforcement agency in Nickerson after Tuesday, when the department officially will be eliminated.The county already responds to about half the city's calls, and questions had been raised about the actual effect of the city's mostly part-time police staff.Mayor Jim Gladden says he would be open to reinstating the department once the city could make budget adjustments. He wants to re-evaluate the situation in six months to a year.